SPFA Introduces Revamped Accreditation Program

By Jessica A. Baris

Spray foam professionals looking to boost business, technical knowledge, and health and safety training can now sign up for the revamped Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) Accreditation Program. The SPFA, the spray polyurethane foam industry’s network for spray foam professionals, has announced that the newly designed courses are in place and will be offered at the annual SprayFoam Convention & Expo 2011 February 7-10 in Reno, Nevada.

“Spray foam is a product that’s in demand,” says Dennis Vandewater, chairman of the SPFA Accreditation Committee. “Spray foam contractors and others who earn SPFA credentials receive the highest quality of training and SPF education. It also shows clients that they hold credibility to do the work.”

The SPFA Accreditation Program, which has offered nationally recognized credentials since the 1980s, recently underwent a redesign to meet the demand for credentialed roofing and building envelope foam applicators. The new program focuses primarily on spray foam applicator credentials.

The restructured SPFA Accreditation Program will offer two tracks: a roofing track and a building envelope track. The program no longer offers the pathway credentials for foreman and management levels. Instead, businesses can achieve Company-Credentialed Status when 50 percent of company-employed applicators are SPFA credentialed. Workers employed by an SPFA credentialed company as field staff (including applicators, pullers, helpers, etc.) must complete the new Spray Foam Health and Safety course. The two accreditation tracks will offer the following:

New Accredited Roofing Applicator Requirements

Three roof projects must be submitted to SPFA (criteria for roofing projects detailed in SPFA Accreditation Contractor Booklet, found on www.sprayfoam.org/accreditation) and successful completion of the following coursework is required:

-    Roofing Prerequisites for the Spray Polyurethane Foam Industry (formerly R-1)
-    Fundamentals of Spray Polyurethane Foam (formerly 101)
-    Fundamentals of Spray Polyurethane Foam and Covering Systems (formerly 101-R)
-    Equipment & Materials (E&M) course (provided by SPFA-approved supplier) Certificate of Completion
     on file  at SPFA
-    Fundamentals of Spray Polyurethane Foam Health and Safety (new course)
-    10-hour OSHA construction course Certificate of Completion

New Accredited Building Envelope (BE) Applicator Requirements

Three Building Envelope (BE) projects must be submitted to SPFA (criteria for BE projects detailed in SPFA Accreditation Contractor Booklet, found on www.sprayfoam.org/accreditation) and successful completion of the following coursework is required:

-    Fundamentals of Spray Polyurethane Foam (formerly 101)
-    Fundamentals of Spray Polyurethane Foam and Coverings for the Building Envelope (formerly 101-BE)
-    Equipment course (provided by SPFA supplier)
-    Equipment & Materials (E&M) course (provided by SPFA supplier) Certificate of Completion on file at SPFA
-    Fundamentals of Spray Polyurethane Foam Health and Safety (new course)
-    10-hour OSHA construction course Certificate of Completion

The new Spray Foam Health and Safety course was developed by SPFA and the Center for the Polyurethanes Industry (CPI) and is considered one of the most vital additions to the SPFA Accreditation Program.

“Spray foam presents health and risk factors that applicators need to be fully aware of, and this new course will provide them with the training they need to make each application rooted in proper safety practices,” says Vandewater.

Suppliers and manufacturers at the SprayFoam Convention & Expo will provide the equipment and course material. Each course is one day long. At the end of each course, an exam is administered. Those who pass will receive credit for completing the course. To complete the individual’s pathway to fully credentialed status, each student must then submit his/her inspections for review and approval by an advisory team of three Accreditation Committee members.  Inspections are performed by inspectors who have completed the SPFA Inspector program requirements, and all project-specific data (customer, prices, etc.) are blinded in the report.

Accreditation courses are now offered regionally throughout the year by suppliers and third-party trainers. For more information, contact SPFA at (800) 523-6454, or visit www.sprayfoam.org.

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